"Thus it is said that one who knows the enemy and knows himself will not be endangered in a hundred engagements."
Sun Tzu, The Art of War.

War on Terrorism

Saturday, May 05, 2012

Afghanistan: North Carolina Guard members train Marines, civilians

By Army Maj. Matthew Devivo

113th Sustainment Brigade

CAMP DWYER, Afghanistan - Hundreds of Soldiers from the 113th
Sustainment Brigade, a North Carolina Army National Guard unit called to active
duty last year in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, are deployed here for
a short time in order to conduct sustainment and redistribution operations.

Their deployment has been highly productive in
assisting coalition forces in setting conditions for the responsible drawdown
of forces in Afghanistan in accordance with U.S. government directives.

The unit has Soldiers serving throughout
the Middle East.

One small group of Steel Warriors stationed
with U.S. Marines here was recently recognized for their outstanding
achievement in support of Marine efforts in vehicle and equipment consolidation
and disposition.

After the team arrived here, the Marine
officer in charge of the camp noted that most of the civilian contractors and
Marines were not licensed to operate some of the vehicles, including the mine
resistant ambush protected trucks so crucial to operations in Afghanistan.

Part of the camp’s duties involved
moving mine resistant ambush protected vehicles to and from the sort yard, wash
racks and outbound staging areas, and this resulted in delays in the process
and a loss of valuable time.

Army Sgt. 1st Class Kendall Cheek, a
member of Company B, 113th Sustainment Brigade, developed a training plan and
presented a driver training course to the Marines that was approved, adopted,
and put into place.

With the success of the Steel Brigade’s
training sessions at Camp Dwyer, the team went on the road to Camp Leatherneck,
where more Marines and contractors waited to be licensed. The team had trained
an additional 77 service members and civilians at the end of April.

More classes are being scheduled at Camp
Dwyer organizers said.

Marine Col. Christopher Michelsen, commander
of Marine Corps Logistics Command (Forward), presented letters of appreciation
to the 113th Sustainment Brigade team of Army Staff Sgt. Dirkson Sanders, Sgt.
1st Class Kendall Cheek and Spc. Raymond Frederick, recognizing them for their
efforts to make the process flow more safely and efficiently.

“These Soldiers have put in many hours
of hard work to support our mission,” Michelsen said.

“Their cooperation and coordination is an
example of joint operations between services and our team’s dedication to
ensure mission success.”